Sound deadener drawer



Patented Sept. 14, 1948 sonno DEAnENEnionAWEn Guyon L. C. Earle, Forest Hills, iN. Y.,Aassgnor to Hugh S. Wertz, trustee forvthe beneficiaries `of the :Earle Patents 'Trust .Application .May 7., 1945 Serial :N- :592,395

IIii-is l'applica-tion `relates -to kitchen units and 'more specifically -to units of this type which include a refrigerator which has a portion of lits A`operating -member 'within a cabinet located at the "have 4usually been vlocated directly over lthis portion Aof the refrigerator operating member and i1 any towels drop they are liable'to Afall on the 'mechanism of V4this member. Moreover, and still more important, noise from the member frequently Acomes out into the room, particularly when I-the slidable member holding the towel racks kis pulled out to or leftinits -open position. Still another disadvantage in the arrangement `disclosed finthe patent is that the front closure Amember for the compartment containing the yabove-'mentioned lportion of the refrigerator opveratingunit -usually is screwed, bolted or snapped if it is relatively permanently fase l--into ',Blace.

tened in place, as by screwing or Vbo'lting, it -is -d-ifcult to reach the operating vmem-ber for servicing. If it is snapped into place, the closure -member lis repeatedly being pulled off by people mistaking '-it Yfor la drawer front. The present `imfention relates primarily Ito 'the removal -or the 'alleviation -of these disadvantages.

It is another object of this invention "to pro- -videfa `lritchen unit wherein the above-mentioned disadvantages :are not present or are greatly 'reduced.

` The above and related objects are attained in accordance with the invention by providing -in an illustrative embodiment thereof fa slidable Iclosure member 'having `a vertical front surface like a drawer front and a horizontal member of sound-deadeziing material `adapted to slide over the portion of the operating member of `.the refrigerator located outside the refrigerator. This horizontal member lis supported 'by any convenient means such as guides or rollers and is lusually `not `as long as fthe horizontal distance from front rtobaclrin the towel-drying compartment so that the warm air to Adry the towels can reach `the "towels above the horizontal member. Alternatively, the lhorizontal `member -can be lprovided with one or more `slots or 4other apertures `so that the warm air can -pass therethrough and reach the ltowels and 'rags -on the racks above. If slots orother apertures are provided thehorizontal :member can, if desired, extend the complete distance from front to rear of the cabinet. Moreover, air filters `can be provided in the Islots or other apertures. This `arrangement makes possible -a great reduction in the noise 11from the r'operating member, Vprovides a lshelf to catch any towels or rags which -dr-op off the racks, and makes easyvaccess `to the operating member pos.- sible.

The invention willbe more readily understood 'by -referring `to `the following description taken `in connection with the accompanying drawing "forming a part thereof, in which:

Fig. `1 -is a perspective view -o'f a `kitchen Lunit including 'the novel slidable member of this invention; and

Fig, '2 is -a vertical cross-sectional view through a portion of Ithe unit of Fig. 1 including the-slid- 'able member.

Referring more specifically to the drawing, F-ig. lshows, by way of example for purposes ojf v-il- 'lustratiom a complete kitchen unit 9 including a novel slidab'le member l0 in accorda-nce with "the invention. While the invention will be hereinafter described for `use in connection with a rkitchen unit of the "set-back? type employing -a refrigerator `utilizing yan operati-ng member -having a portion located outside the refrigerator, -it willbe readily apparent that in certain of Lits aspects vthe Iinvention is `not limited thereto.

The kitchen 4unit -9 is one in which the 'front plane of the intermediate portion H of the unit `and 'the front plane of the upper portion 12 -of ment it, the 4lower portion H of a set-back stove and various cabinets I8 and li9. "The intermediate portion Il comprises the upper por- `tion 2B 4of the refrigerator, a dish-drying 4compartment 2l, Athe yupper vportion 22 `of the stove, land cabinets i3 and 24, while the upper portion Vcomprises shelved cabinets 25. A tabletop memher '26 is laid over the lower portion of the unit and `the surface thereof is broken to provide spaces for 1burners 21 and the sink l5. 'The entire -unit preferably rests on a recessedbase 228. A complete unit vof the type briefly `described above `is disclosed in the above-identified Earle patent. A suitable set-back refrigerator is disclosed in Earle Patent 2 312,326, issued March 2, 1943, a stove of the set-back type is described in Patent 2,180,459, issued November 21, 1939, to the same inventor, and Patent 2,328,129, issued August 31, 1943 to the same inventor discloses a dish and to-wel drying arrangement.

Below the towel drying compartment or at the lower portion thereof is the portion 30 of the operating member of the refrigerator. The portion 30 includes a compressor 3l, a condenser 32, and a fan 33 driven by a suitable motor 34. It is connected to the evaporator (not shown) located in the upper portion '20 of the refrigerator by means of various connections and tubes represented by the single tube 35. Connection 36 provides electrical power. Air enters the lower portion of the compartment through the opening 31, passes over the portion 30 of the refrigerator operating unit and is warmed thereby and then rises to dry'towels or rags 38 placed on racks 3S located beneath the sink l5. For simplicity in the drawings, theplumbing connections for the sink have not been shown. The racks 39 are l mounted from a slidable member having a drawer front 40.

Located under this last-mentioned slidable member is the slidable member I9 in accordance with this invention. This comprises a drawerV front member 4|, side strips 42 containing suitable slide or roller means 43 which engage complementary members (not shown) in the sides of the compartment I5, and top member 44 of sounddeadening material. The side strips 42 can also beA of sound-deadening material, if desired. There is no bottom in the member It. If desired, although not required in all cases, one or more slots or other apertures 45 can be located in the top member 44. Air lter material 46 can be provided in the apertures 45, if desired. Deflecting members 41 can be associated with the apertures 45 to direct air therein and these deflecting members and the apertures corresponding thereto can be sloped so as to direct the air passing through the apertures to various portions of the space above to more eiliciently dry the towels and rags 3B. The top member 44 can extend, in the closed position, as far as the rear framework or wall 4B of the compartment i5 (as shown by the dotted lines) or can leave a small space therebetween as shown by the full lines in i Fig. 2, in which latter arrangement, or in the former `arrangement where the member 48 is a framework, air passes behind the member 44.

In order to prevent recirculation of air, the horizontal member 44 should be as close as possible to the top of the condenser 32. The member 44 may be arranged so as to move in and out with the drawer front member 4t, if desired. Moreoven certain advantages are obtained even vif the air is used to circulate through the dish drier alone, the towel drier not being used. Other yobvious modifications will also occur to those skilled in the art.

The arrangement described above provides a means for deadening the sound from the portion of the refrigerator operating member. a shelf for` catching any rags which drop from the racks 39 and means for directing warm air to variousportions of the towel-clrying compartment and for filtering the air. Moreover, by merely removing the member Ill, convenient access to the member 30 is obtained for maintenance and repair.

Various modications can be made in the embodiment above described without departing from the spirit of the invention as indicated in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a kitchen unit, a refrigerator containing an operating unit a portion of which emits heat and is located at a stationary position outside the refrigerator, a cabinet member enclosing said heat-emitting portion of the operating unit, said cabinet member having an opening in the front thereof and an air inlet adjacent the bottom thereof located to permit air to circulate over said heat-emitting portion of the operating unit, a slidable closure member for said opening comprising a vertical front member and a horizontal member connected to said front member and positioned to slide to a position over and closely adjacent said heat-emitting portion of the operating unit to control said air circulation, and means for exhausting air from said cabinet.

2. In a kitchen unit, a refrigerator containing an operating unit a portion of which emits heatl and is located at a stationary position outside the refrigerator, a cabinet member enclosing said heat-emitting portion of the operating unit, said cabinet member having an opening in the front thereof and an air inlet adjacent the bottom thereof located to permit air to circulate over said heat-emitting portion of the operating unit, a slidable closure member for said opening comprising a vertical front member and a horizontal member of sound--deadening material connected to said front member and positioned to slide to a position over and closely adjacent said heat-emitting po-rtion of the operating unit to Vthereby re- 7 duce the noise from the said heat-emitting portion of the operating unit which reaches the outside ofthe kitchen unit, and means for exhausting airfrom said cabinet.

3. In a kitchen unit, a refrigerator containing an operating unit a portion of which emits heat and is located at a stationary position outside the rerfrigerator, a cabinet member enclosing said heat-emitting portion of the operating unit, said cabinet member having an opening in front thereof and an air inlet adjacent the bottom thereof located to permit air tocirculate over said heat- .emitting portion of the operating unit, a slidable closure member for said opening comprising a vertical front member and a horizontal member connected to said front member and positioned to slide to a position over and closely adjacent said heat-emitting portion of the operating unit, said horizontal member being so Vconstructed that air under it can ,pass to the space in said cabinet member above the horizontal member for drying purposes, and means for exhausting air from said cabinet.

4. In a kitchen unit. a refrigerator containing an operating unit a portion of which emits heat and is located at a stationary position outside the refrigerator, a cabinet member enclosing said heat-emitting portion of the operating unit, said cabinet member havin-g an opening in the front thereof and an air inlet adjacent the bottom thereof located to permit air to circulate over said heat emitting portion of the operating unit,

deflecting means associated with the aperture to direct air therethrough, and means for exhausting air from said cabinet member.

5. In a kitchen unit, a refrigerator containing an operating unit a portion of which emits heat and is located at a stationary position outside the refrigerator, a cabinet member enclosing said heat-emitting portion of the operating unit, said cabinet member having an opening in front thereof and an air inlet adjacent the bottom thereof located to permit air to circulate over said heatemitting portion of the operating unit, a slidable closure member for said opening comprising a vertical front member and a horizontal member connected to said front member and positioned to slide to a position over and closely adjacent said heat-emitting portion of the operating unit, said horizontal member being so constructed that air under it can pass to the space in said cabinet 6 member above the horizontal member for drying purposes, means for supporting Wet objects in said space above the horizontal member, and means for exhausting air from said cabinet.

GUYON L. C. EARLE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

